Every year CBS' Billy Packer hears ESPN/ABC's Dick
Vitale over his shoulder at NCAA tournament time. The latest incident revolves
around Sunday night's showing on ESPN of the A Season on the Brink movie
on Bob Knight.

Packer is certainly entitled to his opinion that ESPN parent
Disney was "selling its soul for bottom-line profits" in airing the profanity-filled
film.

But why suggest ESPN's Vitale and Digger Phelps
 who had a non-speaking part in his former role as Notre Dame coach, should
opt out of Sunday's NCAA selection show? This about a movie Packer hasn't even
seen.

Vitale usually takes the high road when Packer picks on
him. Not this time.

"I don't see any correlation between the movie and the
NCAA selection show," Vitale said Sunday. "Why didn't Billy walk off the set
when he criticized 60 Minutes?"

On The Sports Reporters, ESPN's John Saunders asked
"should Billy boycott the tournament because (Survivor contestants) ate rats
on his network?"

Packer, one of the few besides John Madden to win
the Sports Emmy for top analyst, has earned his lofty post as the lead analyst
for the NCAAs for 28 years. He should be secure enough to share his position
as the game's ambassador with Vitale.

CBS demands little

OK, CBS' commentators could not vent heavily to NCAA tournament
committee chairman Lee Fowler on Sunday night because their network televises
March Madness.

Aside from Jim Nantz and Packer pointing to the
low No. 6 seed for Gonzaga and the top-heavy strength of the West Regional,
few hot issues were raised with the evasive Fowler. Fowler did manage a one-liner,
telling Nantz, "I'd have to kill you" if he revealed the tourney's No. 1 seeded
team (Duke).

CBS could have done more with its expanded hour selection
show, such as getting to the brackets earlier. Kansas coach Roy Williams joked
that he considered taking a nap. And more coaches should have been interviewed.

Though ESPN had to delay its selection show until after
CBS' ended, commentators took shots when the brackets were shown during the
6 p.m. ET SportsCenter. Vitale termed Gonzaga's seed a "crime," and Jay Bilas
suggested, "It's almost like the committee doesn't watch (Gonzaga's) games."

Weekend highs and lows

Best show seen by relatively few: ESPN's snappy
NCAA Women's Tournament Selection Show hosted by Robin Roberts at 5:05
p.m. ET Sunday, with Tennessee coach Pat Summitt candidly questioning why her
No. 2 seed Vols were in the same regional with No. 1 seed Vanderbilt, a Southeastern
Conference foe.

Where's the balance? Isn't it time for CBS to have
a female analyst on the Men's NCAA Selection Show and ESPN a man on the Women's
Selection Show?

Journalism award: While CBS sticks with "feel-good"
features on its men's NCAA tournament shows, ESPN offered a Sal Paolantonio-anchored
Outside the Lines on Sunday on whether male coaches are discriminated against
in pairings for the women's tourney that ESPN televises.

Best interview: Responding to Bucks coach George
Karl's comment that Doc Rivers was "anointed" Orlando Magic coach, which will
lead to "four or five more anointments" of young African-American coaches, Rivers
told NBC's Peter Vecsey, "Why didn't he complain when Larry Bird got
the (Pacers) job?"